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Annapurna Circuit - Day 7

Wed 16th Sep 2009 — drew
image(s): 
sunrise on the Gangapurna glacier from our window
sunrise on Annapurna II and IV from our window
Gangapurna Tal
another lovely morning
altitude training
can I have a rest now please?
strange rock formations
Heather on the edge
chiso pani
view from the bedroom window
Day 7
Start Manang (3540m)
End Manang (3540m)
Distance (day) 0
Distance (cumulative) 90km
Height climbed 0

Today was a rest/acclimatisation day in Manang so we had the rare treat of not having to pack up all our sleeping bags and rucksacks. We opened the curtains early (5.30) to watch the sunrise – the shafts of sun slowly spreading across the face of the mountains before getting high enough for the light to creep in to the valley. We still had our usual breakfast of tsampa porridge with some fruit & nut mix at 7 and by 8 were off on our acclimatisation walk up the opposite side of the valley.

It was a steep ascent along the side of a glacial lake formed at the bottom of the Gangapurna glacier. There were reflections of the mountains and clouds on the surface of the lake and where the river ran in there were pretty fingers of grey, silted, water stretching into the green/blue still water. From the lake it was a steep, zig-zag path up the base of Ganagapurna to a small shepherd settlement at around 4,000m with spectacular views over Manang and back down the valley we walked up yesterday. If Drew had needed a rest at the top after an hour and a half climbing, he was denied it by a young lad who was very friendly and wanted to climb all over him and be thrown about endlessly. It was a good sign that this was more fun than agony.

We messed around at the top for a while – enjoying the views and getting our breath back which is noticeably harder at this height. We had taken the climb very slowly but this had still made our hearts go very fast. We walked back to the hotel with a quick detour to test out how cold the water in a glacial lake really is – definitely is chiso pani (Nepali for cold water).

We then had the rest of the day to relax so enjoyed a nice lunch of momos with Tibetan bread. We had our radio along with us and surprisingly got excellent reception of the World Service so decided that it was definitely worth the space/weight in the rucksack. So the radio, books and snoozing took up most of the afternoon apart from a quick stroll around the town to fill up with water and enjoy a cheeky chocolate treat from the bakery.

We also visited the Annapurna project centre and found there was a health centre and doctor who took some quick readings and confirmed that we both were coping well with the altitude with plenty of oxygen in our blood. He also gave us some good advice on AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) and assured us that we probably would get headaches higher up but not to worry unless there were any more serious symptoms. We picked up a supply of Diamox just in case... there are some folk who were taking a smaller dose of Diamox everyday until we get over the pass as a preventative measure; however, having been reassured by the doctor we decided that our acclimatisation should be sufficient not to require this. Our profile map of the circuit shows us getting slowly closer to the Thorung La pass (5416m, the highest point on the circuit) and the thought of getting up to there - managing the physical challenge as well as the altitude - certainly looms over us.

Dal Bhat for dinner; 8 out of 10 - simple dal bhat with a boiled egg each, similar curry to last night but somehow much tastier, dal also better. Best yet.